Japanese benefactives (awarende)

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Like a number of other East Asian languages, Japanese uses a complex system of honorifics, i.e. a system where a number of different levels of politeness are expressed in language via words, word forms or grammatical constructs. These can range from addressing someone or referring to someone with contempt (very informal) to expressing the highest level of reference (as used in addressing or referring to God) or any number of levels in-between.

One way Japanese shows different degree of politeness is through the choice of a benefactive construction as shown here in the widely-used Japanese Shinkaiyaku (新改訳) Bible of 2017. Here, awarende (あわれんで) or “have mercy/compassion” is used in combination with kudasaru (くださる), a respectful form of the benefactive kureru (くれる). A benefactive reflects the good will of the giver or the gratitude of a recipient of the favor. To convey this connotation, English translation needs to employ a phrase such as “for me (my sake)” or “for you (your sake).” (Source: S. E. Doi, see also S. E. Doi in Journal of Translation, 18/2022, p. 37ff. )

Translation commentary on Mark 10:48

Exegesis:

epetimōn … hina siōpēsē ‘they were rebuking … that he be silent’: the hina gives the content of the rebuke, not its purpose.

epitimaō (cf. 1.25) ‘rebuke,’ ‘stop,’ ‘command.’

siōpaō (cf. 3.4) ‘be silent,’ ‘be quiet.’

pollō mallon ‘the more instead,’ ‘rather much more.’

polu ‘much’: as an adverb elsewhere in Mark it is always used in the neuter accusative plural form polla (cf. 1.45; 3.12; 5.10, etc.): here in the dative singular it means ‘the more.’

mallon ‘more,’ ‘rather.’

Translation:

Rebuked is here used in the sense of ‘scolded.’

All the more is sometimes translatable as ‘the more they told him, Be quiet, that much more he kept shouting out.’

Quoted with permission from Bratcher, Robert G. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of Mark. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1961. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .

SIL Translator's Notes on Mark 10:48

10:48a

Many people: The phrase Many people probably refers to people who were in the large crowd that accompanied Jesus out of Jericho (10:46b).

admonished him to be silent: The people scolded Bartimaeus by telling him to stop calling out for help. In some languages it may be natural to use direct speech here. For example:

rebuked him. “Be quiet!” they said.

10:48b

but: The word but indicates a contrast between what the people told Bartimaeus to do and what he actually did. They told him to be quiet, but he shouted even more. Express the contrast in a natural way in your language.

he cried out all the louder, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”: The phrase cried out all the louder means “shouted even louder than before.” For “Son of David, have mercy on me!” see the notes on 10:47b.

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